A Really Stupid Idea
by Radon088
Summary: A woman of mysterious origin has snatched up an abandoned infant after he was left on the streets by his relatives. Raising him as her own even though she herself is homeless. The destiny of Harry Potter catches up with them but she isn't a mother to stand by and let her son face hardship on his own. But will her own heratage catch up with her, or will a certain potions master?
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing but my character Elly, everything else is owned by their proper owners. That includes any references to brands or trademarked material. I make no money from this so if you sue me all you'll get is this cell phone.

A Really Stupid Idea

 **Chapter 1**

The sound of feet running hard and the panting, panicked, breathing of a small child echoed down a forgotten, cramped, little alley. The baying of hounds echoed in the confined space a moment later as a trio of them chased after the child. A archaic parchment letter was clamped tightly in the boy's hand as he tried to out pace the creatures.

"Mom!" The boy cried in desperation as he felt one of the dog's teeth snag his ratty old clothes and cause him to trip and fall onto his face in the alley. The boy despaired and curled into a ball on instinct to try and resist the coming mauling. A sudden snap and a strangled yelp followed by a strange sound like paint splattering on the ground was all that greeted the boy. A moment passed, then two and still no attack came. The boy peaked behind him to try and discover why he had not been attacked and all he saw was a pair of plain but immaculate sneakers. His eyes trailed upward over a pair of new brown slacks and an equally clean cream colored hoodie. They finally came to rest on the green eyes centered in the face of his mother.

"Moma!" The boy cried again and lunged for her legs holding them tight in a hug fueled by his previous fear and relief at being saved.

"Shh, it's ok now. They can't hurt you ever again." His mother whispered as she leaned down to pull him into a proper hug.

The boy nodded into her shoulder and looked around the little alley, the dogs were nowhere to be seen, not even a trace of them remained. Deciding they must have run away from his mother the boy relaxed. After a moment his mother gently pushed him out to arm's length as she looked him over. Several scrapes on his knees and elbows drew her attention as did the dirt on his face. She licked one of her thumbs and ran it over his face to clean away the filth and yet none of it stuck to her as it seemed to just vanish. Her hands quickly cleaned him, paying special attention to his shaggy black hair and the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

After a few more minutes of her fussing over him the boy held out the letter he had crumpled in his hand. "Hey mom, look at this." She looked down at it before taking it from him and smoothing it out enough to be legible. Her eyes flicked back and forth a minute before she smiled and handed the letter back to him. Her green eyes, no where near as bright as the emeralds that graces his own face, betrayed the confusion she felt.

"That's very nice John, but how did you get signed up for a school?" John shook his head. "I don't know mama, an owl dropped it on me when I was in the park."

His mother brushed her bright red hair that she kept in a simple pony tail back over her shoulder before scooping up her eleven year old son like he weighed no more than a toddler and heading deeper into the alley. "That's a silly way to get a letter." His mother said with a smile that practically glittered, even in the shadows of the alley way. "How are you supposed to reply? We don't have an owl." His mother puzzled as she carried him.

John squirmed a little in his mother's grasp. He was old enough that being carried like this was embarrassing even with no one around to see. But his mother didn't even seem to notice and her grip stayed firm. After a few more minutes he was finally set down in the dead end that he and his mother called home. The little alley was walled in on three sides by buildings, making a nice little spot protected from almost everything but rain.

John flopped down on a sofa that someone had thrown out with the garbage and he recalled the fun little adventure that had been had when he and his mother stole it. A weight settled next to him and he looked up to find his mother smiling down at him with a clean rag and a bottle of vodka in her hand. John whined but a stern look from her and he resigned himself to let her tie the alcohol soaked bandages around his scratches.

"So?" John asked as the last bandage was tied and they both relaxed onto the sofa.

"So what?" His mother replied with an inquisitive look.

"Can I go?" John said pulling himself up to present his best rendition of the famous 'puppy dog eyes'. His mother could never resist whatever he asked for when he acted cute.

But now she looked back at him sadly. "I don't think I can pay for a private school."

John's eyes immediately fell and he nodded, he knew not to argue when his mother said that. He looked around at their alley home with sad eyes, he understood more than most kids his age that money was a hard thing to come by.

"But hey! Don't be sad! Maybe I can try teaching you magic again! We haven't tried everything I know and something has to work right?" His mother seemed desperate as she climbed off the couch to sit in front of him on her knees. Her eyes looked like they would burst into tears at any second and John kicked himself for asking for things 'beyond their means'. His mother, wanted to give him everything he wanted and he had forgotten how much it hurt her when she had to say no to him.

"Yeah!" John said, forcing himself to look a lot happier than he was. "We just have to keep trying!" He said with as much fake enthusiasm as he could muster. He remembered the few times his mother had done magic. They had always used it to stay one step ahead of trouble. Police, other homeless people, criminals, all of them had either been evaded or were 'sent away' by his mother's magic. He sent her a more genuine smile and she suddenly looked far more cheerful.

"I'll do the best I can." She said as she pulled him into a hug which he returned wholeheartedly, cuddling into her shoulder and squeezing her tightly with his small arms.

The days came and went after that and strangely more and more letters were delivered to him, most of which in their little alley. It was strange these people were so pushy without providing any means for them to politely decline as the Owls always just dropped them and flew off. They burned most of them, the alley feeling wonderfully cozy while the strange fuel was plentiful. They did other things with them too, his mother was even currently sleeping on a pile of them. It had been a while since the first letter arrived and the weird flood kept coming until just about an hour ago.

John pushed the last of the letters that had been starting to choke their little home into the 'to be burned' pile. With a swipe of his sleeve over his sweaty brow he sat turned to go lay down with his mother. He hadn't made it a single step before a loud voice echoed down the alley. "'Arry? You back 'ere 'arry?"

John froze and turned to look into the darkness that veiled the passage to their little home from most outsiders. He stared hard for a moment until he saw a large shadow making its way towards them. "Mom!" John cried in alarm as the shadow neared.

His mother turned her head towards him in confusion before spotting the shadow of the huge man just before he entered their little hide away. His mother leapt to her feet and pulled her son behind her as the man stepped into the light of the fire. He was huge, easily the biggest person John had ever seen. He was wearing a worn leather jacket and had a big, bushy, black beard and black eyes that shone out from his face like beetles.

"That you 'arry?" He said as he peered at them, shielding his eyes from the light of the fire.

"There isn't anyone here named 'arry" his mother said as she drew herself up. Of course this was an entirely futile effort, his mom was short for normal people, no way she could compare to the giant man.

"Yes 'er is, tha' looks like 'em there." The man said pointing a huge grubby finger at John.

"His name is John and you leave my son alone." His mother said as she held out an arm to make sure he was well behind her. John was scared, it was very rare when his mother took that tone with people and it usually preceded her using her spells to make them go away.

The man looked confused, shifting his gaze between the two of them. "No... Na' way that'll be you Lilly? You was dead, we all saw you!"

Mother looked confused. "My name is Elly..." She said, relaxing slightly. Maybe this man was just another addled drunk his mom would have to shoo away.

"Ah' see now, sorry bout tha'. You look a lil' like her ya'know. It's the eyes, and tha' hair ah' think."

Elly shuffled a little, relaxing further but still ready to make the man go away should the need arise. "What do you want?" She asked after a moment of awkward feeling silence.

"Oh! Sorry, ahm' from Hogwarts, we nerer' got your owl so tha' headmaster sent me ya fetch young 'arry there" the man said as he pulled out another letter and a squashed looking box which he sat on a spool that we used as a table.

"Oh..." Elly looked taken aback for a minute. "...I'm sorry for being rude, we've never had a guest here that wasn't trying to cause trouble." She pulled John around to stand next to her and stroked his head, trying to reassure him. John pressed close to his mother's side, still not trusting the big man.

"Nothin' ta be worrien' about. I brought ya' a cake fer' ya' birthday 'arry. Might a' sat on it on tha' way here tho'." The man said as he opened the box and revealed a cake that only looked a little squished.

John looked at the strange cake with the words "Happy Birthday Harry" scrawled on it with icing and a single candle sticking out the top. Strange that the man seemed to know his birthday, even if it wasn't for another couple of days.

"Wher' tha' Dursleys? Weren't they tha' ones tha' was ta' take care o' ya?" The big man took a step away from the table as John and Elly neared.

Elly took a pinch of the cake and tasted it for a second before nodding at her son who tore into the poor confection like he was starving. "Who now?" She said as the turned to face him, licking the little bit of icing off of her fingers.

"Tha' muggle family Dumbledore an' I left young 'arry with." The big man said. Watching John eat with worry in his eyes.

"I don't know," Elly said. "I took my son when someone sat him out by some garbage cans. It was going to rain so I couldn't just leave him there."

"Ah..." The man said looking down at the ground and clenching one of his hands. He perked up after a minute or so before holding out his hand. "Sorry, names Rubius Hagrid, jus' call me Hagrid, ever' one does. Tha headmaster of Hogwarts sent me to collect your son so we can get 'is school stuff."

Elly looked sad again. "But I can't afford for my son to go to a private school."

Hagrid looked startled. "Ya' got it all wrong. He's been paid for." He said gesturing to John. "Before'n 'is parents died."

"Oh..." Elly said before she turned and knelt next to her son. "You hear that?" She asked. John nodded and handed her a chunk of cake which she wasted no time in eating. Hagrid looked a little uncomfortable watching them as they had a hushed conversation interspersed with rapid consumption of the cake he brought.

Finally after several minutes and one decimated cake the pair stood up and turned back to Hagrid. "Ok." Elly said, hand in hand with her son.

"Great!" Hagrid said as he led them out of the alley to a waiting motorcycle. Elly and John crawled into the sidecar and managed to not look startled when the thing took off.

"Where are we going?" John shouted over the wind as they sped through the sky.

"Diagon ally!" Hagrid shouted back over the wind. "Nice place but not'n as good as Hogwarts!"

Elly and John shared a look as the motorcycle dipped towards a city below.

 **.XXX.**

It was a cheerful and excited John that finally made it out of the dingy little pub and into the wizarding world proper. His mother stood behind him, both hands resting on his shoulders as they walked. They both glanced rapidly around but with very different expressions. John's face was filled with wonder and excitement while his mother's was wary.

"Right! First'n things first. Ta Gringotts tha wizardin' bank." Hagrid said as he led them up a set of marble stairs, past a pair of living lion statues and into the building itself. They passed by rows of squat, ugly, little creatures at desks till they reached a large counter. "Here ta' make a withdrawal from tha' Potter vault." Hagrid said to the creature on the other side.

"I see..." The thing said as it leaned up to look down at John with a sneer. Elly wrapped her arm around her son and shot the creature a withering glare and to Hagrid's surprise the creature quickly sat back and refused to look in their direction again. "Do you have Mr. Potter's key?"

"Got it right 'ere." Hagrid said as he dug through his pockets for a moment before placing a small key on the counter. "I'm ah also 'ere to pick up you know what from vault seven, thirteen." Hagrid placed a bit of parchment down to the key which the creature read over before nodding.

A few moments later the group was on a cart deep into the earth. "What are those things?" John asked, shouting over the wind.

"Goblins!" Hagrid bellowed back just as the cart began to slow.

After the cart ground to a halt and the three climbed onto the platform their goblin escort held out his hand and gruffly demanded "Key please." With a quick turn of the key the door swung open revealing a room stuffed with piles and piles of gold, silver, and bronze.

John and his mother's eyes both widened at the sight. "Is this really mine?" John asked, his voice filled with amazement.

"Yep tis' all yurs' 'arry." Hagrid said wavin his arm over the room. "We won' be takin' much ta'day though, just'n need some fer' your school things." He said turning back to the pair.

But they weren't listening to him anymore. "Do you see it Mama!" John shouted as he hopped up and down in joy. He tackled his mother's legs and she crumpled to her knees, the shock of the situation rendering her numb. "I'm gonna buy you a big house and a big yard and lots of that fancy food!" He said while squeezing her tightly. "It's gonna have real beds and a roof that doesn't let the rain in!"

Elly looked down at him and the sudden easing of ten years worth of worrying for her son's future evaporated. Tears blurred her vision as her son rambled about all the things he was going to buy her with his new found wealth. "Silly," she said, choking around a sob. "I'm supposed to be the one-" she never finished as she broke down. John hugged her tightly and the pair of them rocked back and forth, locked in a joyful, relieved stupor.

Hagrid shifted around feeling a little uncomfortable to be intruding on such a moment. As quietly as a man his size could manage he scooped up some of each type of coinage before gently guiding mother and son back into the cart. A quick stop at a much smaller and far more creepy looking vault 713 to pick up something wrapped in a bit of paper and they were done.

 **.XXX.**

It was a much different feeling group that emerged back onto the street. Mother and son seemed reluctant to let each other go and Elly was trying to dab her eyes with a tablecloth sized handkerchief.

"Err, next things tha' robes." Hagrid said a little awkwardly. "It'll take 'em all day so'n be best ta' get 'em first."

The pair nodded and followed him to the store. He handed Elly the sack of money, exchanging it for his handkerchief. "Thank you." She said, a glittering smile already in place even though her eyes were still a bit drippy. Hagrid nodded and waved them inside. "I'm off ter get ah' pick me up at teh' Caldron. I hate those Gringotts carts."

They nodded and headed into the shop labeled as "Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions." Inside was filled with rows and rows of eccentrically colored fabrics and other paraphernalia appropriate for a seamstress.

"Hogwarts dear?" Said an older woman, presumably Madam Malkin, who suddenly seemed to materialize out of the stacks.

"Yes." Elly said, John remaining quiet and looking around the shop.

"Yes, yes. Right this way dearies, into the back. So many new students this year." The old witch said as they followed her to the fitting area. John was helped onto a stool at the urging of the proprietress and stood there awkwardly as she took his measures. "Tsk tsk, such worn out clothing. Might I interest you in a new casual wardrobe while you're here?" The old witch asked as the tinkling of a bell announced another customer.

"Um, yes please." Elly said nodding. "That would be wonderful."

"If course dear, one moment." The old witch smiled and then vanished back to the front of the shop to see to her other customers.

"Mom, this is weird." John whined from his stool.

Elly smiled and ruffled his shaggy hair. "You've just never been to a tailor before, it's alright." She said comfortingly.

The old witch returned leading a young boy, probably around the same age as John. The boy had slicked back, pale blonde, hair and made to sneer at the both of them.

John and his mother both frowned at him and shot each looks complete with rolling eyes and giggles. The boy just scoffed at them and paid them no more attention as he was measured just like John had been.

It wasn't long till the old witch pronounced them finished and to return the next day to pick up their other order. To their great surprise Hagrid was waiting for them outside the shop and trying his best to hang onto three ice cream cones. Elly and John took the cones quickly, saving him from dropping them everywhere.

"Thank you Hagrid, you didn't have to do this for us." Elly said before licking the cone to keep the treat from dripping onto her hands. She gave John a nudge with her foot when she noticed he was a little too engrossed in his chocolate and raspberry cone.

"Thanks." John said distractedly, earning a giggle from his mother and a grin from Hagrid.

"Was no problem, ya' looked like ya' needed ah' pick me up too." Hagrid said as he took a bite out of his own ice cream.

Elly nodded with a grin and the three of them finished their treats before heading off to the stationary shop. Once inside Elly grimaced at the quills and sprung for a fountain pen instead. When asked about it she only responded "Have you ever tried writing with a quill? It's the hardest thing I have ever tried!"

Next stop was the book store Flourish and Blotts where John had to literally be dragged away from a book on charms. The place was piled high with all manner of strange books and before long Hagrid ended up having to drag the both of them out.

Next they picked up the caldron, John had wanted to buy one made out of solid gold but a stern look from his mother had him forgetting all about it. They had bought scales and a telescope as well, making Elly giggle as she and John passed it back and forth, looking at various oddly magnified things.

After that was the apothecary, which smelled just plain awful but Elly never seemed to care while John didn't even want to go in. Still the draw of the various horrifying ingredients was too much and he ended up looking through the shop with his mother while Hagrid bought the basics for his potion class.

Finally they ended up at Ollivander's where Hagrid said he had one last errand to run. Mother and son nodded and ventured into the narrow, ancient looking shop. Elly made particular note of the sign "since 382 b.c." and giggled. John looked at her strangely and she waved him off and said "I just bet nee-chan might have been interested in this place." John nodded, having heard many stories about his mother's long lost sister.

Inside the shop was quiet and gave the both of them a creepy feeling. They stood in silence for a few minutes until a man seemed to materialize behind them.

"Ah, yes. I thought I might be seeing you soon Harry Potter." The man walked closer, silver eyes shining behind his spectacles.

"My name is John Primrose." John said, puffing out his chest and glaring up at the spindly man. He was proud of the name his mother had given him and would use it, even if most everyone else seemed to know him by another.

"Is it now?" The man walked up to John and swept aside his shaggy hair to reveal the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. "I'm afraid I sold the wand that did that to you-"

"Excuse me, please don't touch my son." Suddenly a cream colored shape stepped in front of John, blocking the man from view and knocking his hand away.

"Who's this?" The man trailed his eyes up and down Elly's shape for a minute. "Very interesting." He said before wandering back into the shop. "You look so much like Lily young lady, a wonder you would end up with her child." Elly rolled her eyes at him, was everyone going to talk about that?

After a few minutes the man emerged from the gloom holding an arm full of boxes. "Let's start with these." He said passing them each a wand. John gave his a flick but it was snatched out of his hand before he could complete the motion, Elly just stood there looking confused.

"Umm, we're here to get a wand for my son..." Elly started only for that man to make a shooing motion with his hand. "Go on girl, give it a wave, you don't carry a wand but I know you have the gift. I also know my customers and I am certain you have never set foot in my shop before. So two first time customers today." He said with a self assured nod.

"Do it mom! Wouldn't it be awesome if you could do your magic all the time instead of just emergencies?" John said as he tested out another wand.

"Well I suppose..." Elly said, giving the wand in her hand a wave. Nothing happened and Ollivander hummed before taking back the wand and looking it over.

"Hmm, very interesting indeed," he said to himself before vanishing into the back again.

John continued waving around the wand he had in his hand until Ollivander returned and snatched it away as well. "Try these." He said handing them each a new wand. John's immediately shot sparks. Elly's remained inert in her hand. "Ah, as I expected Mr. Potter, or Mr. Primrose now I suppose. It would only do for your wand to be the twin of his. You see, the phoenix whose feather resides in that wand gave one other feather, just the one. The other residing in the wand of the man who gave you that scar. The very man who murdered your parents, Lord Voldemort."

John looked to His mother who had her eyebrows raised in surprise. "What are you talking about?" She said as her eyes narrowed. She jabbed the inert wand in her hand at the man who dropped to the floor in panic. She was confused for a moment before she spotted the plants growing out of the edge of one of the shelves. "Sorry," she muttered sitting the thing down onto the counter.

Ollivander gathered himself and stood up, brushing off a few blades of grass that had spontaneously grown on his vest. "No harm done my dear. It would seem my guess was spot on."

"What were you talking about before?" Elly asked as the man cleared away the other boxes.

"Oh everyone knows the story of "the boy who lived" of how the dark lord murdered his parents. His last killing curse was reflected back at him by a mere infant, giving you that scar and ending his reign of terror." The old man stood behind his register and shot them a significant look. "There are those who believe that the Dark Lord is not yet finished with you my boy. That he will rise again and return to take his vengeance." He pressed a few keys. "That will be fourteen Galleons."

 **.XXX.**

 **AN:** Well... Heres a new project I've started to help my writer's block. I'm really trying to work on Banded Exiles but progress is slow. I'll update BE as much as I can, but I'm probably going to be working on this for a time.


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing but my character Elly, everything else is owned by their proper owners. That includes any references to brands or trademarked material. I make no money from this so if you sue me all you'll get is this cell phone.

A Really Stupid Idea

Chapter 2

A man sat at a table in the Leaky Cauldron. Dressed in a dark cloak and with eyes that stared at his target with a fever of an obsession long since thought dead. He had been sent by his benefactor to investigate, to watch, to pry out the hidden things and lay them at his feet. That was the thing most prominent in his mind, to have to sit and watch some homeless harlot who took the spawn of James Potter. He hated the idea, didn't want the job and had almost refused to take it seriously... until he saw her.

She wasn't Lily. Her hair was too bright, her eyes not bright enough. Too young, too skinny, too short. But he still felt the bitter sting of disappointment. Every time she played with or scolded, or ate with, or fussed over the Potter spawn it reminded him, however faintly of her. Her voice didn't even sound anything like Lily's. In fact, judging by her accent she was American. It was strange how no one was making a fuss over the whelp but that was easily chalked up to a charm or the shaggy long hair. Certainly the woman was terrible at raising children, neglectful, judging by how she appeared immaculate and the spawn so raggedy. Again he added another mental point on the "Not Lily" side of his mental equation. He could never imagine Lily being so awful with kids. It had been easy to look up what her name actually was from the guestbook, Eleison Primrose.

Not Lily.

Lily had been so smart, this woman, if anything, seemed a bit dull. Staring at people doing basic magic and failing to discover how it worked. Lily was always so mature and this woman acted almost as childish as the Potter spawn, shouting and giggling like a little child. Much to the annoyance of some of his fellow patrons. He ripped the woman apart with his eyes, shredded her into little bits and poured over each one. The answer always came up the same, Eleison Primrose was not Lily Evans.

But his eyes still followed her around the dingy little pub. Listened closely every time she uttered a word. He hated her.

Hated her for helping the Potter spawn. Hated her for daring to make him think of someone else.

Severus Snape hated Eleison Primrose for not being Lily Evans.

The man stood, cloak billowing around him like it was alive. "Heading out Severus?" Came the call from Tom, the proprietor.

"Put it on the tab." The man said as he stepped out of the establishment and vanished from sight.

.XXX.

John sat belly down on his temporary bed and idly flipped the pages of one of his school books. He had read nearly all of them, sitting in this inn with nothing to do for a whole month. It was only a few more hours till he went off to school and the anticipation was shaking him almost like a physical force.

"Mom?" He called out quietly.

But the lump in the covers on the other bed didn't budge. The boy sighed and closed his book. He slid off of his bed and walked over to her's, poking the lump. "Mom?"

She still didn't budge. John let out an explosive sigh and poked the bed much harder. "Mooooom?" Suddenly the blanket seemed to lash out and John yelped as he was yanked beneath it.

He squirmed to escape his mother's grasp when he realized where he was. She was such a heavy sleeper and it was no real surprise that she now cuddled him like some kind of living teddy bear.

"Mom!" He hissed. He didn't really know why he was whispering, the dark under the blanket made it seem appropriate. She mumbled in her sleep for a few seconds before he saw her crack an eye.

"What is it?" She said as she flexed in a cat-like motion, drawing him up with her and nearly squeezing the life out of him. Her voice was thick with sleep and she looked like she was only moments away from passing out again. After a few seconds of him kicking his legs she finally caught onto her adopted child's squirming and let him go.

"I was just thinking about school." John said as he slid off and stood next to the bed.

"Are you scared?" Elly asked, levering her body up to rest on her elbows. She let out a mighty yawn, a little dazed from being awoken.

John looked off to the side before shaking his head. "No it's just I'm going to be by myself." He fidgeted as he finished saying his peace.

Elly grinned at him before snatching him up and pulling him back onto the bed with her. If John hadn't lived with her since he was a baby he might have been surprised that such a twig of a girl could toss him around so casually. After the giggles from the both of them had died down Elly pulled her son close and covered the two of them with the blanket. "Don't worry, I'm going too." She said with a little smile at the jump her son made when she said that.

"Really!?" John was happy in a lot of different ways about what his mother had just told him. If he wasn't being held tight to her side he might have ran around the room in his excitement.

"Really!" Elly said. "I asked Tom, the owner, about it. The school accepts adults too if they come from a place with no magical education. There was a guy from the Maldives who graduated a few years ago so I don't think it will be a problem." She placed a finger on her lip in contemplation and looked up at the ceiling. "I sent a bird yesterday and went and bought some stuff earlier. But I wonder why they didn't reply sometime today."

"Did you mention me?" John asked, wishing she'd not hold onto him so tight so he could turn around and talk to her.

"Yeah..." Elly replied distractedly.

"Maybe it threw em off that you were my mom?" John suggested.

Elly paused but then shook her head. "Nah, it can't be that strange, it's probably just because I applied so last minute."

"This is great! Do you know if we're going to have classes together?" John was giddy with excited thoughts. Not only was he getting to go far away to learn magic, his mom was going to be right there most of the time!

"Maybe, I didn't really ask how it worked, just whether it could be done. Now, calm down and get some sleep you don't want to be falling over tired tomorrow do you?" Elly laughed when he violently shook his head.

.XXX.

John and Elly stood staring at a wall with identical puzzled expressions. The trip to King's Cross station had been pretty uneventful, right up until they ended up staring at this wall. Elly frowned and put her hand out, feeling the bricks between platforms nine and ten. There was magic, she suspected some kind of illusion but the wall was solid.

"-packed with muggles, of course-" Someone said behind them. John turned to look at the source of the voice and found a gaggle of red heads that had stopped to stare. John was about to ask them what they thought they were looking at when, with a sigh of resignation he turned and found pretty much exactly what he expected to see. His mother, doing something ridiculous. This time she was practically hugging the wall, her cheek pressed firmly against the bricks.

"Er, mom?" John said, hoping she wouldn't manage to do anything else embarrassing.

"Oh! Um... hi!" His mother was standing right next to him in a flash. "Are you trying to find the Hogwarts train too?"

"But... the platform is over there-" one of the taller boys began before the older matronly looking woman stepped in front of him, cutting him off. "Having trouble finding the platform dear?" She asked, not even waiting for an answer before she herded them a few feet to their right and through the illusionary barrier like it was nothing.

Elly blinked, surprised at the treatment but grinned and nodded as they headed towards a bright red locomotive. "I knew I could feel something but I guess I was poking at the wrong spot. I'm Elly, and this is my Son John."

"Molly Weasley. And this is Ginny, Ron, Percy, Fred-"

"Mum, I'm George."

"-George, sorry, and Fred." The woman finished wrapping her hands around her children. The two twins shot each other a look and snickered. "Just joining us this year?" Molly asked looking down at John. John nodded with a shy smile. "Well, don't worry dear you'll have a fine time at Hogwarts."

Over the next few minutes Molly and Elly saw to helping get the baggage squared away and the children onto the train. "Thank you Molly, I don't know what I would have done had we missed the train." Elly said after the final piece of luggage was loaded,

"Oh don't worry about that dear always happy to help nice folk." Molly said with a generous smile.

"I like you!" Elly said brightly as she hopped onto the train. "Goodbye Molly!" At that moment the trail let out a belch of white smoke and lurched forward before smoothly accelerating. Ginny was so stunned by the odd woman she had entirely forgotten to run alongside the train like she had planned.

Molly blinked and looked back over her shoulder as she caught a glimpse of the scene behind her. "Eh? Hey! Where do you think you're going!?"

"To Hogwarts!" Elly called back with a grin that seemed to nearly be too large for her face.

.XXX.

John wandered down the corridor of the train, peaking into mostly full compartments and looking for a nice place to sit for him and his mom. After several long seconds he came to the very last car and a half empty compartment. John grinned and plopped down into a seat next to a frizzy haired brunette with her nose buried in a thick leather bound tome. Tome was really the only thing to call it as it looked even older and more decrepit than his new school books. Across from him was a red headed Weasley son, Ron if he remembered correctly. Next to him was a chubby dark haired boy clutching a toad and staring down at it like it would vanish if he took his eyes off of it for a second.

"Mind if I sit here?" He asked, trying to break the quiet of the compartment a little.

"Of course not." The Bushy haired girl answered without looking up from her book.

"Thanks..." John replied, searching for another conversational thread to pull.

"My name's John, I remember this is Ron but who are you two?" John asked, getting an annoyed huff from the girl, a smile from Ron and a nervous glance from the boy with the toad.

"I'm Hermione Granger." She said, finally looking up from her book.

"N- Neville Longbottom." The boy stuttered. He lifted a hand as if to offer a handshake but the moment he let go of his toad it leapt onto the floor. John quickly pounced on the thing, snatching it up before it could slip through the door that had just slid open. Handing it back to Neville, the boy nodded gratefully at him and turned to the door as someone cleared their throat for attention.

"Have any of you seen Harry Potter? He was supposed to be attending this year but I haven't found him... Oh, it's a raggedy Weasley and the son of the oh so noble and nearly extinct house of Longbottom." Sneered the blond haired boy that now stood in the door flanked by two large boys who looked a bit too huge to be eleven.

"Sod off Malfoy!" Ron growled at him. The boys behind Malfoy took a menacing step forward and tried to glower extra hard.

"Why do you want to know? What's the big deal with all this Harry Potter stuff?" John asked drawing the blonde's attention.

"Oh, and a mudblood, how wonderful." The boy raised his nose as high as he could into the air, looking thoroughly ridiculous.

"Is that a homeless joke? My mom says I'm supposed to kick people in the nuts when they make homeless jokes." John said, tilting his head.

"And a waif too? Hogwarts' standards really are hitting rock bottom!" Draco said imperiously, doing his best to hide the way he carefully positioned his leg to preclude any attempted strikes below the belt.

"Excuse me." Came a voice from behind Malfoy. The two goons flanking Malfoy turned and instantly paled. A rather impatient looking red headed woman was tapping her foot and giving them an annoyed look. "Can I please get into my son's compartment?"

Crabbe and Goyle backed up a few steps leaving Malfoy to start violently when the woman placed her hand on his shoulder to gently shift him to the side and step into the compartment. "Hey!" Malfoy protested but quickly shut up when the woman set next to John.

John shot him a superior smirk as if to say 'Oh you're in trouble now.'

Malfoy scowled but left quickly dragging his goons away back toward the front of the train before anyone could say anything.

"Making friends already?" Elly asked John with a knowing smile.

John nodded with a sheepish expression. After a moment Hermione frowned a little bit and prodded John in the side. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Oh, err right, sorry. This is my mom, mom this is Hermione, Neville and you remember Ron." John pointed to each of them in turn.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Elly said with a bright smile. "You all can call me Elly if you want."

Hermione scrutinized the woman while everyone else was chatting. She hardly looked old enough to be a

The mother of an eleven year old and while her social sensibilities were telling her to nod politely and shut up, her curiosity was being unbearable.

"Ms. Primrose?" Hermione ventured.

"Yes?" The woman in question turned toward her.

"Pardon my rudeness but, how old are you?" Hermione asked, her stomach in knots.

"Twenty three." Elly answered simply. The compartment went silent. John wasn't paying attention but Ron was looking at Neville and Hermione who had both gone very red in the face and were trying to look anywhere else but at the woman who was still grinning and trying to figure out what everyone was acting so funny over. He finally gave up with a shrug and looked out the compartment windows at the scenery flying by.

"Barking, the lot of them." Ron muttered to himself.

.XXX.

When the train pulled into its destination it was a rather hectic scene as a multitude of magical children spilled off and onto the platform. "Firs' years o'er 'ere!" Hagrid called, holding a lantern aloft. Elly ushered her little flock, consisting of the children who had ridden in their compartment off towards the giant. John waved at him with a smile to which the man replied "Good ter see ya 'arry! Mind teh boats, I'll be with yer' lot in a minute."

The boats were tiny and ancient looking. Ron and Neville were ushered into one with a few additional young boys while John, Elly, and Hermione were given their own. "Right, dun' fall in, teh water'l freeze ya' solid!" Hagrid bellowed. "An' mind teh Giant Squid, he gets ah' might curious!"

The boats began to move on their own once Hagrid had stepped into his own. John stared down at the glassy water, looking closely for any sign of movement but his eyes caught the reflection of the castle. His eyes snapped up and he stared as they approached the giant structure.

"First years this way!" Called a stern looking woman with a bit of a scottish accent. The new students quickly made their way up to the building and stepped inside of a large, warmly lit entrance hall.

When Elly reached the threshold for the castle itself a sudden force pushed her back. It was stretchy and Elly giggled and poked at it. The stern looking witch paled and quickly flicked out her wand just in time for Elly to try bouncing off of the invisible barrier again. The barrier was absent however and sent her stumbling into John's back and the two of them sprawling onto the ground with surprised shrieks.

A squad of transparent flying people, ghosts, swooped out from a wall over the startled children. They were led by a cackling little spirit who rained down insults and bits of garbage as he passed. "Hey!" Elly called as she picked an odd bit of plant from her hair. When the poltergeist turned to hurl more insults his eyes locked with hers and he instantly stopped in mid air, his face falling sober.

"Headmaster did a bad thing he did." The creature popped like an overgrown soap bubble leaving the student confused and angry.

With an impatient huff the stern looking woman waved a wand and vanished the lingering detritus from the gathered students. "Single file into the Great Hall now!"

The room was pretty much the greatest room ever, no wonder it would be called the Great Hall. John thought as he took in the enchanted ceiling, floating candles and all of the students already seated at four huge tables.

"I am Professor McGonagall." The stern looking witch announced to the gathered first year students and one giddy mother. "Here you will be sorted into one of the four great houses, each one has produced many fine witches and wizards. While at Hogwarts your triumphs will earn you house points and your failures will lose them, do try and earn more than you lose." McGonagall said, looking like she wanted to hurry so she could be elsewhere. "In a moment the Sorting ceremony will take place, please try to behave until then." She finished and then hurried off to the professors table to whisper something in the ancient looking geezer's ear.

Elly watched in quiet amusement as the gathered children self destructed over what the ceremony would entail. She watched as they were called up one by one, each jolting in surprise when the hat was first set on their heads. She almost laughed when John loudly corrected them when they had called out for Harry Potter, to much mumbling and whispers. The moment lost its humor when a silent war seemed to be fought across her son's face as the hat was placed on him. She wanted to go lay a comforting hand on his shoulder as his face screwed up in concentration. It was a great relief when the hat called out Gryffindor and he grinned and hopped off the stool, headed for the table with a happy wave in her direction. Elly actually did laugh when the Weasley twins burst into a spirited chant of "We got Potter!" To which her son kept interjecting Primrose after every repetition.

One by one the children were sorted until the last one sat at their respective table. A moment passed before McGonagall called out her name. "Eleison Primrose, would you please come to the headmaster's office after the feast. For now please sit wherever you like."

Elly smiled and made her way to claim a seat opposite Hermione who was in between John and Ron. "Honestly Ron if you don't keep yourself clean your going to get a skin condition." Hermione kept reaching for Ron's face was a handkerchief, only to have her hand batted away.

"Geroff you crazy bird." Ron fended off the questing cloth once again. Rolling her eyes, Elly leaned over the table and plucked the handkerchief out of Hermione's hand. With a look that brokered no argument she licked her thumb and used it like a scrub in conjunction with the pilfered rag to finally rid Ron of his pet smudge.

"Thank you, now maybe you can maintain your own hygiene from this point Ron?" Hermione quipped as John shot the redhead a very insincere apologetic look.

"Ahem!" The old man at the head of the teacher's table cleared his throat and silenced the low murmur of conversation that had broke out after the sorting. "Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Dig in!"

The old man returned to his seat amidst clapping and cheers. John didn't know wether to laugh or not... Until his mom let out an obnoxiously loud whistle with her applause. John could no longer resist and cracked up laughing.

.XXX.

Elly reached the top of the strange spiraling staircase sometime after her son had been shoo'd off to his tower and rapped against the wooden door. With a creek the ancient looking thing swung open and she stepped inside. Within the equally ancient old man sat behind a large, rich, wooden desk but he wasn't the only one in the room, various other wizard-y looking people lined the walls and with a thump old lady McGonagall closed the door behind her.

Elly glanced around at the gathered, teachers she guessed, or perhaps the school board. After a few long minutes of various expressions being leveled at her, some worried, some friendly, and one venomous glare from a greasy looking man to her right the ancient man finally cleared his throat. "Ahem, Ms. Primrose I presume?" He asked with a friendly smile.

"Yes that's right." Elly responded simply.

"Very good I wanted to talk to you about your application." The man stroked his beard as he held up a sheaf of papers. "Now there is little complication with putting an adult through Hogwarts, in many ways it is simpler than a typical child. You won't be eligible for any extracurricular activities and you won't be taking part in the house cup. Now it says here that your son is also attending correct?"

"Yes, John Primrose." Elly answered simply, she had to keep herself from fidgeting as paperwork stuff was always so boring and her mind tended to wander unless she forced herself to focus.

"That bears an additional caveat, you won't be sleeping in the same tower as your son as part of the purpose of a boarding school is to teach attendees self reliance." The old man said as he turned to fiddle with a few odd whirring brass things that glowed and smoked.

Elly frowned in disappointment but replied with an "I understand."

"Now for the last thing." The man said as he turned back towards her with his mouth set in a serious line. "When were you planning on telling us you weren't human?"

.XXX.

So... Been awhile hasn't it?

...Heh

Umm yeah sorry for the wait on this, life ya'know how it is.


End file.
